Draco, Ginny, and the trustbinding spell
by Fair Angel
Summary: What happens when Ginny and Draco both lose their diaries? How can they keep the other from blabbing their secrets? And what is a trust-binding spell anyway?
1. Where's my journal?

Disclaimer: I do not own Draco, Ginny or any of the Harry Potter characters.

Ginny looked out the window of the train. The sun illuminated the countryside, rolling hills and simple farms covered the landscape as far as the eye could see. She was alone in her carriage, her diary open in her lap. She chewed on the tip of her quill trying to decide what to write next. This is going to be Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts and her mind was buzzing with questions, "What would her classes be like? Would she meet any cute boys? Who would her new roommates be? What kind of adventures would she have?" She snorted as she thought of the last question. "Yeah right, I wish." she thought to herself. It was Harry, Hermione, and Ron who got all the adventures, the most adventure she ever had was in her first year, and she was the victim, not the hero. She closed her diary and put it in her ragy book bag. "Almost at Hogwarts" she thought to herself. She pulled out her comb and began to brush her long red hair. She smiled to herself as she remembered how hard she had worked over the summer. She saved up every cent so she could go shopping with her friends to Hogsmade for some new clothes.

Ginny stood up as the train approached Hogwarts. Already the train's carriages were buzzing with excitement. She walked down the corridor anxiously. She wanted to be one of the first students off the train. Suddenly the train lunged to a stop, tossing Ginny backward, her book bag went flying. She would have fallen to the ground if someone hadn't caught her. Two strong arms raised her to her feet. "Thank you." She said, turning to thank whoever had caught her. She froze when she realized who caught her and a frown hardened on her face. It was Draco. His face sneered has he realized who he had caught. "Draco, I'm supervised you didn't let me fall." Ginny replied, bending down to pick up her fallen book bag.

"Had I known it was you Weasley, I would. As it is I had to drop my books to catch you, now that they are covered with Weasley filth, I don't know if they are even worth keeping."

Ginny just sneered and walked away. "He is such a jerk!" she thought to herself.

Draco waited until Ginny was gone before he picked up his books. A flash of panic crossed his mind. He searched frantically though his books. "It's gone." He gulped. "My journal, it's gone." Another wave of panic hit him. "That Weasley girl must have it. It has all my secrets in it. I've got to get it back!" Draco gathered his books and ran out to the station. But amongst the wave of students, he lost her. Then Draco noticed something odd amongst his pile of books. "Hey this isn't my journal." He opened Ginny's diary. A smile crossed his lips.

Ginny looked though her bookbag. "It's gone." She frantically tore through her side of the dorm. "My diary is gone; I must have lost it at the station. Huh? What's this?" She asked herself, pulling a fancy journal out of her book bag. She opened the journal and began to read….

Ginny giggled as she read Draco's journal in the dinning hall. Who would have guessed Draco would have named his teddy bear 'Mr. Snuggles'? "Hey Ginny, what is that you are reading?" Colin asked sitting next to her. Ginny quickly closed Draco's journal and put it in her book bag.

"Nothing." Ginny replied quickly. Colin gave her a quizzical look. "It's a girl thing." She quickly replied. Colin just shrugged his shoulders and changed the subject to which classes they would have together. Their conversation was cut short when a large Eagle flew over and dropped a note in Ginny's plate. "What the? It's not time for the mail yet." She opened the letter:

_Please do not read my journal in public…_

Ginny gulped as she realized who it was from. She quickly turned and saw Draco looking at her from across the room. She returned to the letter,

_Meet me in classroom 128B at 7 o'clock to exchange journals, or else everyone will hear about your little accident in the third grade._

_-D._

Ginny gulped. 'He wouldn't dare. Then again this is Draco we are talking about.' She turned towards Draco. She made sure no one was watching, and nodded her head in reply. Draco flashed Ginny a knowing smirk. Ginny folded up the letter and put it away. Ginny looked at the clock, 'A few minutes before class.' She sighed, "This is going to be a LONG day."

She didn't know how she did it, but somehow she got through her classes. She was a mess of nerves by the time dinner time came around. "How much of my diary has he read? He better not try to blackmail me, I got enough shit on him to fertilize mom's garden." All day Colin had been asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't tell him, no one could ever know.

Ginny went to classroom 128B a few minutes before seven. Draco was already there. "I believe you have something that belongs to me." Draco said calmly. "Likewise" Ginny replied. Ginny whipped out Draco's journal. She looked at it, then at Draco. "You know, we can't just exchange journals."

"Whaaaattt? Why not!"

"Because we already got too much dirt on each other. How do we know that once we exchange journals that we don't go blabbing each others secrets?" They stood in thoughtful silence for a while, suggesting everything from forgetting spells ("I'm not letting you use a forgetting spell on me!) to mediators ("No one else can find out!") but it seemed hopeless.

"I guess I have no choice." Draco said, pulling out his wand. Ginny quickly drew her wand and pointed it at him. "What are you planning to do?" Ginny asked accusingly. Draco sighed in frustration as he approached her "No you dolt, it's a trust-binding spell."

Ginny lowered her wand. "A trust-binding spell?"

"Yes a trust-binding spell." Draco answered angerly. " It will make sure we don't go blabbing each other's secrets. There's one catch though, to put it in the simplest terms it will make sure you,, Weasley can understand me (Ginny scowled) I become your journal and you become mine. So we would have to meet every night and talk to each other."

"What if something happens and one of us can't make it?"

"Write, call, whatever it takes to communicate. We would be unable to tell each other's secrets but if we lose contact for more than a few days the spell would be broken, we could blab each others secrets, and we would have Wizard pox for a month!"

Ginny gasped. Wizard pox was one of the horrible diseases in the wizarding world. When someone had wizard pox, the had red spots all over their bodies, their hair turned purple, their tongue turned green, and they would have a fever so high they would have to go to the hospital. "Wizard pox? Why?"

"It's part of the spell!" Draco sighed in frustration and stretched out his hand. "So what do you say?" He asked reluctantly. Ginny stretched out her hand and grasped his in a handshake. 'It's the only way.' She told herself, letting go of his hand. "Accio spell book!" Draco called. Within moments, a velvet-lined book flew into his hand. After a few minutes of fumbling with the pages, he found the spell. He made a fretful sigh as he read the spell. "You are not going to like this. We have to hold hands and say the spell in unison."

"Great." She mumbled quietly and reluctantly took his hand. 'His hand is really warm.' She thought to herself. Draco learned over so she could read the spell. She had never been this close to Draco willingly before. She had butterflies in her stomach but she wasn't sure why. 'No way could I be attracted to Draco, it must be the spell."

Little did she know Draco was thinking something similar. "Her hand it's so delicate."

As they finished reciting the spell, Draco looked over at Ginny, a smirk crossed his lips. "What?" Ginny asked.

"You're blushing. Why are you blushing? " Draco teased, his smirk growing wider.

Ginny tried to hide her blush. "I don't know, why are you still holding my hand?" She commented. A small smile played across her lips as she watched Draco's flustered expression. He quickly dropped her hand and looked away. After an awkward moment he looked back at Ginny, she was still smiling. "Hey Draco, is this an effect of the spell?"

"What is?"

"You and me getting along."

"I don't know, this is the first time I've ever used this spell. I guess now that we can trust each other we can relax and be ourselves with one another."

"I guess so."

"So would you like to begin?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Draco said, sitting on a desk. "We are each other's journals now, so instead of writing in your diary…" Draco paused and smiled. "You talk to me."

"Ginny walked over and sat on a desk next to Draco. Ginny took a deap breath and began. "Well today was a pretty crazy day…".


	2. Midnight Flight

Midnight flight

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

For the next few weeks, everything seemed perfectly normal. Ginny had her usual classes, hung out with friends, dealt with an overprotective big brother and continued to despise Snape and his massive homework assignments. She tried out for the quitich team but didn't make the cut. Despite their trust-binding spell, Ginny and Draco continued to completely ignore each other during the day. They didn't want anyone else finding out about their spell or their reason for the spell. Every night after curfew Ginny and Draco would sneak out of their dorms to the dungeon and meet in classroom 128B. At first, it was a little awkward, talking to your childhood enemy about things that normally you wouldn't share with anyone else, but with the spell to protect their secrets, they eventually opened up. They would talk about their day, their future plans, concerns, cares, and worries.

Draco would talk about egotistical things, money mainly. Occasionally he would talk about Slitherins or his parents. He hated how so many Slitherins were posers. "These Siltherins think they are the cream of the crop when all they are is half-blood fakers, sluts and cheaters." Ginny gave him an accusing look. "Look, I am the only pure blood in that house and I seem to be the only one _earning_ my grades. Everyone else hides cheat notes in their robes." There was an awkward silence. "I am going to be great someday, better than my Azkaban-bound dad, and I want to have earned it. I'm better than some lousy cheater."

Ginny would talk about her friends, her annoying brothers, her classes, and even her dreams and plans for the future. It made Ginny feel good to be able to talk to someone about her problems, even if it was Draco. But sometimes talking about it just wasn't enough. In one day, she had overslept, missed breakfast, somehow got gum in her hair, failed her herbology test, and mouthed off to Snape, resulting in a triple homework assignment and two weeks of detention. She was fuming by the time she got to 128B. Draco was already there, sitting on top of a desk as usual. "Bad day?" He asked.

"How could you tell?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

" I've seen you pissed off tons of times, mainly cause I was the one who pissed you off." Ginny gave Draco a do-not-remind-me stare. "Plus your hair is a mess and you were stabbing your steak at dinner."

"I was what?"

"You were stabbing your streak. Have you ever noticed that when you are bored or upset, you repeatedly stab your steak with your fork?"

Ginny just sighed. "I think it's a nervous twitch or something, Colin has scolded me about it before."

Draco got off his desk and walked over to Ginny "Ginny, it's already dead, you don't need to kill it again."

Ginny tossed her book bag aside and began to pace around the room practically screaming out her bad day. Draco could only watch her pace and ramble on about her day. Ginny ended it with a huge grunt of frustration. Ginny looked around the room. "I need to get out of here."

"What? You can't leave! I still need to talk, remember the spell?"

"Well come with me then." Ginny called, walking out the door. "I need to go clear my head, go fly or something."

Draco eventually caught up with her. Already she was halfway to the broomstick storage shed. "Hello, you don't have the key and don't you think someone would see you?"

"I'll fly off campus." Ginny replied walking up to the storeroom door. "Alo homra!" It didn't work. She tried to again, still nothing. "Figures, I should have known Dumbledore would try something like this." Ginny sat on the ground, defeated. "Now what am I going to do?"

Draco looked down at Ginny and thought for a moment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand "Accio broomstick!" Within moments, his broomstick flew into his hand. Ginny stood up and looked at Draco's broomstick.

"Wow! It's a thunder clap 6000!"

"Yup, one of the best." Draco said proudly.

"You're going to let me fly it?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"Nope can't." Draco replied, climbing on his broomstick. "It's imprinted to only my voice so it will only listen to me."

"Then why…?" Ginny began to ask.

Draco scooted to the back of his broom. "Climb on." He replied. Ginny quickly and cautiously climbed onto the broom in front of Draco. Draco leaned forward to grasp the broom, his arms on either side of Ginny. "Grasp the broom tightly; she's got quite a kick." Draco quietly said into her ear. Ginny gulped and grasped the broom tightly. She was getting that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach again. She didn't have long to feel it though, faster than you can say 'take off' they were up and soaring through the sky. Ginny's long red hair kept flying into Draco face. Ginny turned to see Draco spitting out her hair out of his mouth. She apologized and quickly tucked her hair into her robes. They flew up and over the Forbidden Forest, soaring high above the trees. They flew so far Hogwarts was but a dot in the distance.

Draco had been quiet the entire time; Ginny couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. "Well Draco you still have to talk about your day." Draco was still silent. He seemed to be thinking something over. "So tell me, is there anything you want to talk about?"

After a moment, he asked "Ginny do you think I am a bad person?" Ginny was a bit shocked that Draco would ever ask her something like that; after all, she was a Weasley. "I mean I know I am a prideful person and sometimes I can be a jerk, but well…" Draco paused, not sure what to say next. "I guess I'm just wondering who I am and where I want to be. I mean I graduate next year and I guess I'm just wondering what I want to do with the rest of my life. Dad wants me to be a death eater and marry some pureblood somewhere. In fact, he has been trying to sign me up for an arranged marriage. Can you believe that! I can't trust my dad with my love life! I'm tired of him trying to control my life! It get's me so…!" Draco couldn't finish his sentence, he was too angry. He clenched his teeth in anger; it was the only thing keeping him from screaming in Ginny's ear. He clenched the broomstick as if it was his father's neck and wrung it tightly. The broom began to shake from his anger. Ginny clung to the broom for dear life. Ginny clenched Draco's hands in an attempt to calm him down. "Draco! Draco calm down! The broom is shaking! I'm gonna…" Ginny never got to finish her sentence. Draco's broom lunged and she lost her balance. Ginny screamed as she began to fall. Her scream brought Draco back to his senses. He power-dived after her, catching her half way down. Draco and Ginny clung to each other tightly as Draco slowly brought them down to a field. Ginny was trembling all over, still shaken from the fall. Draco whispered apologies over and over, trying to calm her down. They landed softly in a field, still holding each other. Ginny eventually calmed down but continued to hold Draco. They stood there in silence, not sure what to do next. After a while, they slowly pulled apart. "I'm sorry." Was all Draco could say.

"It's all right. You were there for me, you caught me, that's all that matters."

"No Ginny! I almost hurt you, you could have been killed and it's all my fault."

"I'll tell you what, keep your anger on the ground from now on, and we'll call it even." A small smile crossed her face. "Looks like we both had a pretty bad day huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Draco said half-heartedly.

Ginny looked over at the horizon. "The sun is coming up, we should head back."

"Yeah you are right." Draco said, climbing on his broom. "Climb on, don't worry I won't get made this time." Ginny cautiously climbed on in front of Draco. Draco sluggishly took off. Ginny had to keep talking to Draco to keep him and herself awake. It felt like an eternity before they finally got back to Hogwarts.

"Draco I can't go back to my room."

"What, why not?"

"Because everyone is waking up now. If I tried to come back to the room now, they would ask a lot of questions." Ginny thought for a moment. "I got an idea, head over there." Draco flew over to one of the near by buildings. "Fly around here a few times." 'I hope this works.' Ginny thought to herself. 'Please let the room of requirement have a window.'

Suddenly a window appeared. "What the..?" Draco stared in disbelief.

"Yes! It worked! Fly over to that window." Ginny directed. Ginny carefully climbed in through the window and looked around. There was a fireplace, sofas, books, and a large bed in the corner.

Draco climbed in through the window. "What is this?" Draco said looking around confused.

"This is the room of requirement."

"The room of what now?"

"The room of requirement. If there is anything you need, you'll find it here. And believe me, I need sleep." Ginny replied, plopping face first onto the bed.

"Oh no you don't. I flew so I get the bed." Draco complained walking over to the bed.

"MMMmmm soft pillows." Ginny teased. She quickly grabbed a near by pillow and threw it at Draco. Draco let out a startled noise at it hit him in the face. Ginny giggled as she grabbed another pillow. "You want it? Come and get it!" Ginny teased as she threw another pillow at Draco. This time, Draco caught the pillow and picked up the other. Armed with a pillow in each hand, Draco smiled mischievously and arched his brow. Ginny squealed as Draco came at her pillows flying. Ginny grabbed the nearest pillow and attacked. Somewhere amongst the tousled feathers and flying pillows, Draco and Ginny fell asleep, side-by-side.


	3. Confrontation

Chapter Three: confrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters

Ginny and Draco woke up late that afternoon in the room of requirement. Ginny was the first to awaken. She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. Her face was a few inches from Draco. She let out a startled squeal and fell off the bed. Draco woke up, startled from Ginny's squeal. "Huh? Huh! What? Who?" Draco looked around the room. "Where?"

"Sorry about that." Ginny replied, standing up.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot where I was for a second." Draco said, climbing out of bed. Ginny giggled. "What?"

"Hey there bed head." Ginny giggled.

"You aren't much better yourself." Draco smiled. He walked over to a mirror and transfigured a book into a comb. After a while, he offered it to Ginny.

"What time is it?" Ginny asked brushing her hair.

"3:20pm" He replied, looking at his pocket watch.

Ginny froze. "Is today Saturday?" She asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Ginny began to frantically gather her things. "Shit! Shit! Shit! I was supposed to go with the girls to Hogsmede today! I've been saving up all summer for this. I'm sorry Draco, I've got to go! I'll see you tonight!" She called running out the door. And before Draco could react, she was gone.

Back in the girls dorm

"I am so sorry I missed everything! Gggrr I could kick myself!" Ginny kicked a trashcan. Her friends Julie and Jennifer were taking their new clothes out of their shopping bags and hanging them up in their closets. Jen froze, deep in thought. Then a smile crossed her face. "Ginny do you have a boyfriend?"

"What?!?"

"Well you've been gone every night for quite some time now and last night you didn't come back at all. Care to explain yourself?" Jen asked, a mischievous grin crossed her face.

"What?!? No! Of course not! It's just that… Snape has been cracking down on me lately and last night I fell asleep in the library working on an assignment."

Jen sighed. "Okay Ginny, whatever you say." Jen replied, smiling a mischievous smile. 'She'll tell me when she is ready.' Jen thought to herself.

Little did Ginny know that Draco was having a similar problem back in his dorm.

Boys Dorm

"Hey Draco, where have you been lately?" Blaise asked, smirking.

"And what is _that _supposed to mean?" Draco asked, eyeing him.

"Sneaking out every night after curfew, not coming home last night…" Blaise leaned over in his chair. "Okay who is she?"

"Who are you talking about?" trying to give a stone face.

"You've fallen for a non-Slitherian and you don't want anyone to know, right? So who is she?" Blaise teased. "Sally the Hufflepuff, Beth the Ravenclaw?" Blaise saw Draco fidget; he knew Draco was keeping something from him. Blaise's grin grew even wider. "Draco's got a girlfriend. Draco's got a girlfriend!" Blaise teased.

"Cut it out!" Draco yelled, leaping at Blaise. Blaise barely dodged Draco. He ran around the room, Draco close behind, teasing him. Suddenly, Blaise tripped and fell. Draco grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. "I do NOT have a girlfriend! Got it?!"

Blaise laughed. "Got it." Draco dropped him to the floor.

Draco headed towards the stairs. "I like my privacy, that's all." He said over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. When he got up to his room, he collapsed on his bed. He rolled over and looked at his clock "4:15, just enough time of a nap." Draco rolled over and went to sleep.

When Draco woke up an hour later, he had just enough time to grab a late dinner before going to meet Ginny. During his dream, Draco had a great idea. He couldn't wait to share it with Ginny.

Later that night

"Hey Gin, I got an idea." Draco said the moment Ginny walked in through the door.

Ginny was taken back for a moment. "Did you just call me Gin?"

Draco was a bit flustered. "Um, yeah, well…anyway I got a great idea. You remember how you missed your shopping today? Well why don't we go shopping tomorrow?"

"Together? Wow that's rare."

"What? A Weasley and a Malfoy hanging out?"

"That, and a boy suggesting to go shopping with a girl. You sure you want to put yourself through that kind of torture?"

"My mom used to take me shopping with her all the time, but yes, I realize I'm asking for it." Draco smiled and shrugged. "So what do you say?"

Ginny smiled. "Okay." Ginny sat on the desk next to him. "So, tell me about your day."


	4. Shopping

Shopping

Draco and Ginny decided to leave while everyone was at lunch. "That way no one would see a Weasley and a Malfoy hanging out." Draco reasoned.

It was Ginny's idea to go to a muggle mall. "Because everyone at Hogsmede knows who we are." Ginny explained.

At the stroke of noon, Ginny and Draco climbed on Draco's broom and took off. As soon as they were off Hogwarts grounds, Draco landed. Ginny gave him a quizzical look. "It's a surprise." Draco explained, grinning broadly. "We have to appreate, and we can't on Hogwarts grounds." Ginny nodded in agreement as Draco pulled out his wand. Draco motioned for Ginny to come over as he pointed his wand to the sky. "Hang on tight." He whispered. He couldn't help feeling nervous when Ginny grasped his waist. He had a lump in his throat and he wasn't sure if it was from Ginny hugging him so tight, or something more. Draco quickly shook his head and focused on his appration. He called out the name of some mall Ginny had never heard of before. In an instant, that familiar hook feeling in the pit of her stomach came and whisked her and Draco away. Within moments, they were standing in front of an enormous mall. Ginny was surprised at its enormous size. "Six floors, stores, eatery, rock climbing wall, movie theatre, this place has everything." Draco boasted.

"This place is amazing, but how would you know about this place? I mean it is a muggle mall."

"Better exchange rate." Draco reasoned. "A galion is worth a lot more here than at Hogsmede. Come on, we better hide our robes before someone sees us."

Draco and Ginny took off their Hogwarts robes and hid them under a bush. This was the first time Ginny ever saw Draco without his robe on. He looked…good. He had on a simple white button down shirt, with the top three buttons undone, black pants and a silver belt. Ginny had on a tight blue sweater and dark blue jeans. Draco was the first to notice that they were staring at each other. He smirked. "Like what you see?"

Ginny shook her head out of her daze. She gave a little pout she always did whenever she realized she had been caught in the act. Colin knew the look well. "Shut up, let's go."

Draco laughed as they walked into the he mall together. Inside, the mall was covered with Christmas trees, lights, and ribbon. "Christmas!" Ginny squealed. "I've been so busy with everything I almost forgot about Christmas shopping!" Ginny took out her wallet and checked her money. "You know, if I budget this right, I might be able to do my Christmas shopping and get a few things for myself. How about you Draco, do you have any Christmas shopping left to do?"

"A little." Draco confessed.

"Well then let's go!"

Ginny and Draco spent the entire day at the mall. Ginny was determined to get the perfect gift for everyone. Every couple of hours Draco and Ginny would stop at the eatery or the game room for a break. They spent most of their time walking store to store talking about everything under the sun. 'The more I'm getting to know Draco, the more I like him. I wonder if this is an effect from the spell too.'

Little did she know that Draco is asking himself a similar question. 'She is so awesome, why couldn't she have been in Siltherian. Woa! Did I just think that about a Weasley?' Draco looked at Ginny and smiled. 'You know, she is kinda cute. Woa! There I go again.' Draco laughed at himself. 'Ginny has brought out this whole other side of me, it's….nice.'

"Well that is everyone on my Christmas list. How about you Draco?" Ginny finally asked after five hours of shopping.

"Well, I just have one more person to shop for." Draco confessed. A mischievous grin crossed his face as he approached her. He stood a few inches from Ginny, as if to tease her senses. It was Ginny's turn to get a lump in her throat. "Tell me Gin, what do you want for Christmas?"

"Me?" Ginny gulped, still a little nervous from standing so close to Draco. "But I didn't get you anything."

"You've already given me something very precious to me; you have been a true friend to me. That's enough."

"Nope." Ginny said finally snapping out of her nervousness. "If you are getting me something, I have to get you something. It's always been a rule among my friends." Ginny paused. "Did you call me friend?"

"Yup and so did you, so what do you want for Christmas?"

"Oh I don't know, something sedimental."

"Then that's what I want from you, something sedimental." Draco paused. "Did you ever go shopping for yourself today?"

"Yeah a little." Ginny replied.

"Well is there anything you would like to look at while you are here? Maybe a Christmas hint or two for me?" Draco winked.

Ginny giggled. "Normally I would take you up on that offer, but we have been shopping for five hours and I'm tired. I think we should head back to school."

"A woman tired of shopping?!?" Draco teased. He put his hand on Ginny's forehead. "Quick call a doctor I think Ginny's sick."

"Draco." Ginny giggled.

Draco's hand moved from her forehead to her face. 'I wish I had a spring of mistletoe right now. Woa! Where did that come from?!?' Draco took a step back and once again, shook romantic thoughts from his head. "Yeah you are right, what time is it?"

"5:30"

"Perfect, we'll get back just as everyone is leaving for dinner, come on we'll have to hurry." Draco and Ginny tried to get through the Christmas rush crowd. The rush hour traffic brought in a huge wave of customers that nearly swamped Draco and Ginny. "Stupid crowds." Draco murmured. Draco turned around and grabbed Ginny's hand. "Stay close." He cautioned. Hand in hand, they made their way through the crowds. On their way out Draco noticed a twinkle in Ginny's eye as they passed by a few shops. Draco took a mental note of each one. After much shoving and pushing, they made their way out of the mall. "Wow, that was nuts." Draco huffed.

"Yeah." Ginny replied. Neither one of them had registered that they were still holding hands until they had found their school robes. Ginny blushed and Draco looked away as the awkwardly broke hands.

'This is too much. But still…' Draco thought to himself, looking at Ginny. 'I think she is worth it.' Ginny and Draco had to appreciate in a back alley so no one would see them. Ginny and Draco clung tightly to each other, once again that familiar lump in their throats. Within moments, they had whisked themselves to just outside of Hogwarts grounds. They clung to each other for a moment before breaking apart. "Come on," Draco said grabbing his broom from beneath a bush. "We better get back."

Ginny climbed on in front of Draco and together they flew back to Hogwarts. Draco dropped off Ginny right behind Gryffindor building. Before heading in she gave Draco a big hug. At first, Draco had been taken back by this sudden hug, but eventually returned it. "Thank you Draco for everything." She said before turning and running into her building.

Draco just stood there watching her for a minute before climbing on his broom and flying back to his own dorm. It was then Draco finally admitted to himself, 'I'm falling for Ginny Weasley.'


	5. Cookies, Cards, and Mistletoe

Chapter 5: cookies, cards, and mistletoe

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

(A/N: Please write a review! I'd love your feedback! :) )

For the next few weeks, Draco and Ginny met only after curfew. Finals were coming up so they didn't have much time to socialize with friends or go on any more adventures. Sometimes Draco would bring a pack of playing cards to their midnight meetings and play a few games together.

It was the last night before winter break, Draco and Ginny sat on the floor of the room of requirement, playing cards and telling each other about their day. They had decided to meet in the room of requirement because they wanted a more comfortable place to visit. Tonight there was a couch, fireplace, rug, bookcase, and a pile of pillows in the corner. Ginny and Draco sat on the floor in front of the fireplace playing poker. The loser had to tell something about themselves or answer the winner's question. Ginny had just lost yet another hand of poker. Ginny tossed in her cards in defeat. "Okay, something about myself…I want to dye my hair."

Draco looked at her shocked. "Now why would you want to do that? You have great hair! Why would you want to change it?"

"Because I am tired of being known as just another Weasley, I want to be known for me. And everyone knows me for my red hair."

"Well I still think you are nuts."

"You are just figuring this out now?" Ginny smirked.

"You know, I think you have been hanging out with me too much, you got my smirk down pat."

Ginny laughed. "Well you know me too well; today you sent me a note telling me I was stabbing my dinner again." Draco and Ginny both laughed. "But yes, I want to dye my hair."

"What color would you dye it?" Draco asked shuffling and passing out another hand.

"Maybe black." Ginny said, picking up her hand.

"Ugh no, you are too pale, you'd look like Wednesday Adams."

"Good point." Ginny said grinning at her hand. "I win. Now for my question, what color do you think I should die my hair?"

"Why blonde of course." Draco said with a small smile.

"Of course, I should have known." Ginny said with a small smile. "How about a compromise, strawberry blonde."

"Deal." Draco said standing up. He pointed his wand at Ginny and muttered a spell that changed Ginny's hair to strawberry blonde. Ginny stood up and looked in a mirror. Draco stood there drop jawed. If he thought Ginny looked pretty before, she was beyond beautiful now.

Ginny was also amazed at how different she looked. "I look beautiful."

"Yeah." Draco gulped.

"Thanks Draco." Ginny walked over and gave him a hug. Again Draco felt a little nervous, but he returned the hug. He unconsciously ran his fingers through Ginny's hair. Ginny pulled away but didn't let go. "So you staying for winter break?"

"Yup, you?"

"Yup, me and Ron. We'll be going home just for Christmas day though. Mom and dad want to use our beds for Bill's and Charlie's wives went they visit."

"Oh, and speaking of Christmas…" Draco winked, grabbing a present from beneath the sofa.

"My present!" Ginny squealed. Draco laughed as she eagerly took her present from his arms. She smiled as she pulled out a large box wrapped in bronze wrapping paper. "Here is your present."

Draco's eyes were wide and sparkled as he saw the huge present. Its was big enough to hold a bowling ball, and as heavy as one too. "Ginny, what is this?"

"Open it." She said, sitting eagerly on the floor next to him. He sat on the floor and eagerly tore off the wrapping paper. Ginny giggled at his eagerness. He opened the box and was surprised at what he found. Cookies. Every cookie imaginable; sugar cookies, ginger bread, chocolate chip, you name it, it was in there.

"Ginny, did you do this yourself?"

"I snuck down to the kitchen last night and asked the house elves if I could borrow their kitchen. They wanted to cook them for me but I insisted on cooking every cookie myself."

Draco leaned over and gave Ginny a huge hug. "Thank you so much!" Draco smiled as he pulled out of the hug. "Now open your present." Draco scooted closer to see what her reaction would be. He had enchanted the box so it could hold a lot more than it should. Draco waited in eager anticipation as she tore through the golden ribbon and silver wrapping paper. Inside was a small jewelry box, she smiled and was about to hug Draco when he stopped her. "Open it." He whispered with a smile. She slowly opened the box and gasped. It played "Saved the Best for Last" By Vanessa Williams, and inside were small figures of Ginny and Draco dancing. The bottom of the box glowed. Ginny reached into the bottom and pulled out a piece of jewelry. It was the most beautiful thing Ginny had ever seen. It was a small ruby heart attached to a long silver chain.

"Draco, this is beautiful." Ginny said breathlessly.

"Keep going." Draco whispered, smiling.

Ginny looked back at the box. 'There's more? This is way too much already.' Ginny reached into the box again and this time pulled out a box of chocolates. "You know my weakness." Ginny laughed. Draco urged her and she once again, she reached into the box. This time she pulled out a dress. It was a beautiful knee length silver dress. She stood up and held it to her chest. "Draco this is too much, I can't accept all of this."

Draco stood up and nervously cleared his throat. "Ginny I have to tell you something." Draco took a step towards Ginny, closing the gap between them. He took her hand in his. "Ginny, lately I have been having certain…. "Draco gulped. "…feelings for you and well..." Draco looked in Ginny's eyes "… I just want to be certain that what I am feeling for you isn't just some side effect of the spell."

Ginny gingerly took Draco's other hand. "Draco." Ginny paused, wondering what to say next. "I too have been having certain..." She looked at Draco and blushed immediately, "…feelings, and you are right, I want to make sure what we have isn't just a side effect of the spell." Ginny looked at Draco somberly. "So how do we find out?"

"We break the spell." Draco answered.

"But we can't…"

"Gin!" Draco answered somewhat angrily. "Do you honestly think that after everything we have been through I would blab all of our secrets. Even if I did go back to my old way of treating you?!?"

"Draco that's not what I was going to say!" Ginny snapped. "Draco if we break the spell we get Wizard pox for a month and wizard pox can be deadly at our age. Plus who is to say the person we tell won't go blabbing!" Ginny took a deep breath. "Sorry I didn't mean to yell."

"Oh, its okay I was yelling to." Draco hugged Ginny. They sat on the floor once again, trying to figure out what to do. After almost a half an hour, Draco finally spoke up "I got an idea! What if I was to ask mom a hypothetical question about the spell? Mom is a wiz at charms, I'd bet she'd know!"

"Well go owl her then." Ginny said standing up.

"I got a better idea." Draco said standing up. "Those gifts I got you have more than one purpose." Ginny gave Draco a confused look as he walked over, made a dramatic gesture, kneeled and took her hand. "Ginny Weasley, would you do me the honor of being my date to my family's yearly New Year's Eve ball?"

"Oh yes Draco." Ginny giggled. "I'd love to."

"Great." Draco said standing up. "Because I want you to wear your gifts."

"Wait a minute, what if your parents recognize me?"

"Are you kidding? First of all, no one will recognize you with your hair dyed, and second, no one would ever think I would bring a Weasley to a family ball."

"You're right." Ginny said a little crestfallen. "No one would ever believe it."

"I'm sorry Ginny." Draco said, giving Ginny a hug. "One day… they'll see… what we feel is real." 'I hope.' Draco thought to himself. '

For a moment, they just stood there holding one another. 'I wish I had a sprig of mistletoe.' Draco thought to himself. As soon as he thought it, he regretted it. 'Shit! This is the room of requirement! Which means…' Draco thought looking up. A sprig of mistletoe grew out of the ceiling. Ginny looked up and saw the mistletoe.

'Shit.' They both thought.

Ginny began to back away, but Draco stopped her. "You don't have to kiss me." Ginny quietly whispered.

Draco and Ginny just stood there for a moment, looking at each other. Draco stepped forward, closing the gap between them. "But I want to." Draco said, his voice somewhat shaky. "Ginny, spell or not… can I kiss you?" Ginny's voice caught in her throat, she didn't know what to say. She nodded meekly. Slowly, Draco brought his face closer to hers, until finally, their lips met. It was the most amazing feeling either one had ever felt. It could only be described a pure joy. It was sweet and captivating. Neither one wanted to break the kiss. When Draco eventually stepped back, Ginny couldn't help but giggle at Draco's expression. He looked like a kid that found out he inherited a candy store. Ginny was grinning ear to ear.

Draco insisted on walking Ginny back to her dorm. Draco bribed Peeves to keep the hall prefects busy while he walked her back. Draco held her hand as they walked. "I hope someday we'll be able to do this during the day." Ginny said looking at their hands.

"Well I've never been much on public displays of affection, but as far as people accepting us…" Draco said, stopping in front of the fat lady portrait. "…We'll try our best. I think our families are going to have the hardest time accepting us."

"Yeah." Ginny said, looking down. "We know each other too well to go back to being strangers. Spell or not, we'll always be friends." 'And hopefully more.' Ginny added mentally.

"Friends…with benefits?" Draco asked winking. Ginny giggled. Draco leaned in and kissed Ginny on the cheek before he turned and walked away.


End file.
